Digimon: Network REvolution
by Xero980
Summary: The year is 2025: Digimon and humans have been coexisting for ten years now, living in each others' worlds in a brand new society. But when a terrorist organization comes forward that threatens this new age of companionship, it'll be up to a group of teenagers and their Digimon partners to face this new threat. Warning: Slight language, Violence
1. Chapter 1

**Digimon: Network REvolution**

**Chapter 1: And So It Begins…**

_ Hi there! Welcome to Digimon: Network REvolution! In most of the universes you've seen before, humans and Digimon are pretty separate, with only a few humans knowing Digimon even exist. In my world, however, almost everyone has a Digimon partner. Digimon and humans have been working together as a society for 10 years. It's normal for Digimon to live in the human world with their human partners, while humans may go to the Digital World for work or research. Not everything's going as peacefully as it used to, though; evil hackers and Digimon have started to cause chaos for everyone. My dad doesn't like when I get in on cases…but that's never stopped me before!_

**[Human World, Cyber City, 9:05 P.M.]**

Cyber City: the leading technological city of America. Being one of the many frontiers made in the last 10 years, Cyber City is the number one worldwide area for human-Digimon cooperation. This cooperation, however, has benefited both sides of the law. Police have been trained along with their Digimon partners while drug dealers have hired Digimon bodyguards and hit men. With the installment of the new chief of police Daniel Kenney four years ago, crime has reached an all-time low in Cyber City. Things are starting to stir up again, however, and this time the chief of police may not be able to handle it on his own.

The police are currently guarding Connelly Industries, the leading company in Digimon advancement. The company is responsible for the creation of the D-Pad, the most popular mobile phone and Digimon-partner unit. The D-Pad was designed as a combination between the Digital Enhancers used by police and government officials in order to work more effectively with their Digimon partners and the popular D-Phone used by the populous. The D-Pad became a major hit instantly, since it allowed regular humans to receive partner Digimon, paving the way for Free Battles, Tournaments, and enhanced Digimon-Human partnerships. The police received an anonymous tip that the company would be infiltrated tonight, so the chief authorized a stake out in order to keep watch on the company.

Daniel Kenney and his partner, Dukemon, are currently waiting on the top floor of Connelly Industries. The chief of police hoped that if this was some amateur talking big, he would be deterred once he arrived at the company and saw the police waiting outside. Something in the back of his mind just told the chief that this wouldn't be that easy.

"Anything coming up on the radars?" the chief asked the officer standing closest to him. "Nothing sir: the Digital Radar isn't picking up any Digimon signals. All security camera checks come clear: no one other than the janitor and us are currently in the building." Oh right, that damn janitor; the chief wanted him out of the building, but the idiot insisted he had to get his cleaning done. After running a background check and seeing that the guy was clean, the chief relented and let the guy stay.

"Hey chief, your kid's starting high school tomorrow, right?" The chief smiled a little at the mention of his son. He's a rambunctious boy that always wanted to help the chief on a case, and was never deterred even when the chief told him no. "Yea, that's right. He seemed really excited. When I asked him why, he said because he'd be meeting lots of new powerful Tamers. Leave it to Dylan to think more about the Digimon he'll get to battle instead of the friends and teachers he'll meet." The officers chuckled, knowing very well how much the chief's son loved Digimon. When the boy received his own Digimon for his 6th birthday, he was overjoyed.

"Sir, we just got a faint reading on the Digital Radar!" All laughter stopped as the officer spoke. The chief ran over to his officer and looked down at the laptop. "Hm…the reading came from the 25th floor. Somebody check the cameras for that floor. Do we know if the janitor's left yet?" Officers and Digimon scrambled around the room getting to their posts. "The janitor is currently on the 16th floor sir. We have no movement on the 25th floor," a PawnChessmon reported. "Dukemon, do you sense anything?"

The chief's partner, Dukemon, was staring out the window with his arms crossed. Dukemon and the chief had been working together for 10 years now, even before he came to Cyber City. The chief wasn't too keen on Dukemon's silent but powerful attitude when they first started working together, but over the years the two grew fond of each other and formed a bond that was widely admired. "I cannot sense any unknown Digimon." The chief looked back down at the laptop. "Do you think the reading was just a glitch?" Even though the Digital Radar was designed to not pick up the digital signatures of the police's Digimon partners, it would still bug up every once in a while. "No, it's far too much of a coincidence. Someone is definitely inside the building, and it's not a human."

The chief nodded and started going around the room ordering people to head down to the lower forms and for officers already on the lower forms to be on alert. Several officers were amazed at the way the chief easily went with Dukemon was saying without even questioning his judgment: they assumed that's what 10 years of working together will do. "Alright people, stay on alert and keep your eyes peeled. We don't know what we're dealing with here." The chief walked over to his partner and looked out the window. "Still not a fan of our big city lights?" Dukemon simply chuckled in response. When he first came to the Human World, Dukemon told the chief he didn't like human cities, stating they were too bright and noisy compared to Digimon cities. Over the years the chief could've sworn Dukemon started to admire the city lights, almost always staring out a window whenever they were on a stakeout.

"Sir, we have movement on the 33rd floor!" Everyone's head spun around and looked at the screen. Sure enough, a blur could be seen shooting across one of the security camera feeds. "I want every officer on alert! We have confirmed sighting of a Digimon on the 33rd floor. Anyone who is above floor 33 is to report to me any sign of movement and attack on sight! Do not shoot to kill unless absolutely necessary. Anyone who is below floor 33 is to split up into two groups: one group will head to the lobby and block all exits from the inside while the second group waits on floor 32. And someone get that damn janitor out of here!"

Dukemon nodded in agreement with his partner's plan. Although the police were blocking the entrances from the outside, the inside was still left unwatched in the lobby. Also, if the officers could catch sight of the Digimon on one of the floors above 33, the officers on floor 32 could stop it from escaping if it decided to retreat. "Dan, something's not right. I could not sense this Digimon, and our radars did not pick up its signature at all. This may be a new type of Digimon we have never faced before." The chief looked at his partner and knew what had to be done.

"Come on Dukemon, let's go. We'll meet up with the officers on the lower floors. Greendale, you and Knightmon are in charge of operations here; report to me immediately if anything else shows up." Officer Greendale nodded as the chief and Dukemon ran out of the room into the elevator. "You know something, don't you?" Now it was the chief's turn to chuckle: his partner knew him too well. "Mr. Connelly told me that his top programmers were recently working on a new program for the D-Pad. It was supposed to be some major update and renovation in Digimon evolution. It's a top secret project, but obviously it got out." The elevator pinged as it opened at the 40th floor.

"I do not understand. Why would a Digimon be after a D-Pad program?" Dukemon asked as the two ran to the main computer room. "A Digimon may not want it, but a rival company could easily higher or use one of their own Digimon to infiltrate Connelly Industries in order to steal the program. You said it yourself, though: something feels off here. Call it a hunch, but something tells me this Digimon will be like nothing we've ever seen before." The chief quickly put in the code for the main computer room and watched as the doors opened. Both Dukemon and the chief were surprised to see what was on the other side of the doors.

"Lord Seraphimon?!" Inside the main computer room, a man in a black trench coat and bowler hat was typing into the main computer. Standing next to him stood a figure that looked exactly like the Celestial Angel Seraphimon, only demonic in appearance. "You are half correct Sir Dukemon. This is ShadowSeraphimon, a far superior being to your beloved Seraphimon." The bowler hat man was speaking as he continued typing into the computer. "You, stop right now! You are under arrest!" The bowler hat man simply laughed and continued typing. "My dear apologies chief, but I'm afraid I cannot allow you to arrest me. I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment. ShadowSeraphimon, be a dear and keep our guests entertained while I finish up, will you?"

ShadowSeraphimon stepped away from his Tamer and stared at the chief and Dukemon. "Seven Hells!" Seven dark spheres shot forward from ShadowSeraphimon's wings, which Dukemon and the chief just narrowly dodged. Dukemon quickly summoned his joust and pointed it at ShadowSeraphimon, firing an electric blast at him. ShadowSeraphimon deflected the attack, sending it towards the wall, causing one of the computers to explode. "Do try to not destroy the entire room ShadowSeraphimon. I'm still working."

"Attention all units, attention all units: I have confirmed sighting of the infiltrator on the 40th floor in the main computer room." ShadowSeraphimon fired his Seven Hells attack at Dukemon, which he swiftly blocked using his shield Gram. "One human and one Digimon: the human is male, wearing a black bowler hat and trench coat. The Digimon is known as ShadowSeraphimon. Judging by its attack power, I would assume it is at the Ultimate level. All officers with Adult level or lower Digimon, do not engage. I repeat; if your partner is an Adult or lower, do not engage." Dukemon returned fire with another Royal Saber attack, though ShadowSeraphimon absorbed the electric attack this time.

"Ah, finally complete. Thank you chief for the warm welcome, but it's time I made my leave." The chief ran towards the man while pulling out his gun. "Hold it right there!" Out of nowhere, a living shadow appeared next to the man. It was a living, moving shadow with red eyes all across it. "Shademon, right on time as usual. I do hope we get to meet again chief, possibly in a more hospitable environment. Good day!" Shademon wrapped itself around the man and seemed to sink into the floor, disappearing from sight. "Damn it! All units, repeat all units. The human has escaped using a second Digimon. The second Digimon looks like a living shadow and is named Shademon. It has red eyes all across its body." The chief's report was cut short as he narrowly dodged another Seven Hells attack.

"Dan, I believe it would be wise for us to take care of this imposter before we move onto the human." The chief nodded in agreement as he looked at ShadowSeraphimon. Dukemon readied his shield for his ultimate attack. Officers and their partners quickly ran into the room, surrounding ShadowSeraphimon. "We have you surrounded! Give up now and we will not harm you." If ShadowSeraphimon cared, he didn't show it. He pushed both his hands out to his sides, making him look like a cross. "Testament!"

The chief suddenly had a look of horror across his face as heard the attack name. "Everyone get behind Dukemon's shield now!" The officers and their Digimon didn't ask questions and quickly got behind Dukemon's shield, preparing for the worst. ShadowSeraphimon's body started to glow with a bright light as he screamed. The light grew brighter and brighter before a massive explosion filled the room. As the light dimmed down, Dukemon disarmed his shield and looked at the place where ShadowSeraphimon once stood.

"I don't understand. Did he run away?" one of the officers asked. "No, he used Seraphimon's ultimate attack: Testament. The attack is a last resort as the user is destroyed. No one has ever seen it due to it being such a high stakes attack, but there are rumors that it is similar to a second Big Bang. ShadowSeraphimon obviously was not on the same level as Lord Seraphimon, or else we would all be dead."

The chief walked back out into the hallway and looked out one of the windows. His partner Dukemon was not far behind him, crossing his arms and staring out into the night. "Do you think our officers will be able to catch them?" Dukemon asked. The chief shook his head while saying, "No, they'll be long gone by now. Shademon obviously snuck that guy in here. ShadowSeraphimon was a distraction and a warning." Dukemon gave the chief an inquisitive look. "A warning? A warning for what?"

The chief crossed his arms like his partner and continued to stare out into the night. "Simple: he attacked this corporation with a clone of Seraphimon. That means he could have clones of potentially any other Digimon. And now that he has that program, he can upgrade his Digimon even further. He played us like fools; we did exactly what he wanted us to do. Not only did we make fools of ourselves but he got away with the program: a win-win. At least, he thinks it is."

The chief quickly turned to one of his officers who had run down to the 40th floor. "Eisenberg, I want none of this going out to the media. As far as they're concerned, this night never happened. If anyone asks we tell them they're interfering with a police investigation and leave it at that. Get me Mr. Connelly on the phone immediately. I want to know what exactly this program is and what we're up against now that it's been stolen." Officer Eisenberg nodded as he and WereGarurumon went back up to the top floor.

"I do not understand. Why do you not want the media to cover this? Wouldn't it be good for the public to know what Digimon or human they should be looking out for?"

"No, because then we're basically telling everyone he wins. I can already tell this guy likes to brag. He'd want us to report on the news and tell everyone to look out for him. The fact that he's not going to be on Channel 1 News or in tomorrow's newsletter will absolutely crush him. He beat us, and I've always been a sore loser. So now we're retaliating; once he realizes he won't get the recognition he feels he deserves, he'll get pissed. And when people get pissed, they slip up; that's when we catch him."

**[Human World, Cyber City, 7:05 A.M.]**

The chief walked into his apartment, tired from the long night. After the break-in at Connelly Industries, he had to remain behind cleaning up and making sure no media caught onto the fact a top secret program was stolen. He also had to get in contact with Mr. Connelly, who was strangely not upset at the fact his program was stolen. Mr Connelly asked to meet with him today to discuss their next move, which the chief agreed to after he got some rest. All Dan wanted to do now was go into his room and sleep….

The chief nearly tripped as his son bounded past him, running into the kitchen. He was going to yell at him, but then he remembered what today is: Dylan's first day of high school. He couldn't blame the boy for being so excited. "Hey honey, welcome home. How was work?" The chief's wife, Catherine, came in after his son, obviously exasperated from the boy's energetic attitude. She quickly kissed her husband on the chief before heading into the kitchen. Dylan was eating cereal while Catherine started making toast for him. "It was long and tiring. We didn't catch the guy we were looking for, but we'll get him." The chief didn't want to reveal too much of last night's events in front of Dylan. His son had a habit of getting involved in his work. Dan had to admit his son had actually helped him solve a few cases in the past, but he was still just a kid; he didn't want him getting hurt.

"Dylan, eat quickly so you can get through the shower," his mom told him as she handed Dan his toast. Dylan nodded and finished his cereal before running out the door. "He's really excited if you haven't noticed." Dan chuckled and took a bite of toast. "So, the stakeout didn't go so well?" Catherine asked. Dan sighed and just stared at his toast. "No, the thief set us up. He sent in a ShadowSeraphimon to gain our attention on the security feed while he used another Digimon named Shademon to sneak him into the computer room and steal the program. By the time Dukemon and I got to the computer room, he was almost finished and used ShadowSeraphimon to buy him more time."

"ShadowSeraphimon and Shademon? I've never heard of those Digimon before. How about you Frigimon?" Catherine's partner, Frigimon, had entered the room and was pouring a glass of orange juice for Dan. "Hm…well I know Lord Seraphimon, but I've never heard of a ShadowSeraphimon or a Shademon. Does Dukemon know them?" Dan shook his head while drinking some of the orange juice. "No, he never heard of them before either." "Where is Dukemon anyway?" Catherine asked while putting Dylan's bowl in the sink. "He's resting in my D-Pad. Last night took a lot out of him too. He protected us all from ShadowSeraphimon's attack and took the damage himself." Dan rubbed his eyes and stood up from his seat. "Does Dylan need a ride to school? I know you have to leave for work soon so I'll take him if he does."

Catherine chuckled and shook her head. "No, he's taking the bus to school. I told him I could drive him but he insisted on taking the bus." Catherine finished cleaning up the dishes and chuckled again as Dylan came racing into the room. His jet black hair looked like it was attacked by several balloons and his blue t-shirt was on backwards. At least he was able to get his cargo shorts on the right way. "Mom, have you seen my sneakers? I can't find them!" Frigimon pointed into the hallway and Dylan ran out to get them.

"So, what are your plans for the day?" Catherine asked while she and Frigimon wiped down the table. "I'm going to get some rest and then head back to Connelly Industries for a meeting with the CEO. It seems our culprit may not be so in the clear just yet. But if I want to be awake for the meeting I'm going to have to get some sleep. Good night." Dan grabbed his coat and gave his wife a kiss on her cheek before heading into their bedroom. Dylan ran back into the kitchen just as his dad was heading out. His hair was now styled, his shirt was on the right way, and his backpack was secured on his back. "I'm going to head out mom! I'll see you later!" He quickly gave his mom a kiss on the cheek before running out of the room. "Bye Frigimon, see you later!" The Ice Digimon chuckled as Dylan ran out the door, excited for his first day of high school.

In the apartment complex hallway, Dylan quickly ran to the steps while making sure the coast was clear. "So Renamon, did you catch everything my parents were talking about?" His Digimon partner appeared beside him, materializing from nothing. "Every word; this one sounds interesting. I don't know if we should get involved with it." Dylan just chuckled as he and his partner ran down the steps. "Of course we're going to get involved! If I'm going to take over as chief of police when I'm older, I'm going to need experience! The only way I'm going to get experience is by helping take care of cases!" Renamon couldn't really argue with her Tamer's logic. She had to admit it was always fun going to crime scenes and scanning the area for clues.

**[Human World, Dylan's Bus Stop, 7:45 A.M.]**

Dylan and Renamon came to a stop as he reached the corner where the bus was supposed to pick him up. A few other people and their Digimon were waiting, but the one person he noticed was his friend Joseph Gardner. "Hey Joe!" Dylan said while waving his hands in the air. Joe laughed at his friend's energy and walked over to him. "Hey Dylan, hey Renamon, how are you two this morning?" Dylan had that look where he was really excited about something, and it wasn't about today being the first day of high school for both of them. "Pretty good, I've got something cool to tell you about! My dad was working last night and some really awesome stuff happened!" Dylan was about to go into a full explanation before he noticed someone was missing. "Hey, where's Haguramon?" Dylan was referring to Joe's Machine Digimon partner who was normally always at Joe's side.

"He's stored inside my D-Pad. The bus driver doesn't like when Digimon ride the bus. Apparently he's afraid someone will start a battle and end up blowing someone up." Dylan didn't like the sound of this bus driver but he couldn't really argue. "Maybe I should go into your D-Pad Dylan. We don't want someone angry with us on the first day of school." Leave it to Renamon to always be the responsible one of the duo. "Sure thing Renamon, I'll let you out the first moment I can. Download!" A stream of blue data bits circle around Renamon before she disappeared and reappeared inside of Dylan's D-Pad. The other kids who heard what Joe said followed suit and Downloaded their Digimon.

The bus pulled up a few moments later, the doors opening to reveal an older bus driver. The man was wearing a cap and looked very irritated. "Come on, get on all of you!" he yelled out. Everyone quickly piled on, not looking the man in the eyes. Dylan was very happy that Joe told him to Download Renamon. Something told him this guy would have been an asshole to him and Renamon if she had walked onto the bus.

Dylan and Joe took their seats in the back of the bus, Dylan leading the way so he could talk to Joe privately. He didn't want anyone overhearing their conversation. "Okay, so I had Renamon listen in on my parents' conversation this morning. Apparently, my dad and his officers were at Connelly Industries last night! A thief with two Digimon broke in and stole some top secret program. One of them was an evil version of Seraphimon and the other was a Digimon named Shademon that no one has ever seen before! Dukemon saved everyone from ShadowSeraphimon's ultimate attack while the guy got away!" Joe was left in shock from his friend's story. It wasn't often that someone could outsmart Cyber City's finest. The last time something like this happened, the culprit was caught within the next five hours.

"Do you think your dad can get this guy?" Dylan was rocking in his seat with excitement. "Of course my dad can! He is the chief of police. But, I was thinking maybe Renamon and I could lend him a hand." Oh no…Joe knew where this was going. "You're going to head to Connely Industries and check it out aren't you?" Dylan's nodded with excitement, nearly falling out of his seat as the bus hit a bump.

"Good luck trying to do that." Joe and Dylan turned to see a girl with brown hair looking down at them. She was sitting in the seat in front of them and had turned around after hearing their conversation. "There's no way you're getting into Connelly Industries, even if you're the chief's son." Dylan glared at the girl. Who does she think she is telling him what he can or can't do? "Yeah and how would you know that?" Joe already knew how though and was surprised his friend didn't.

"Because I'm the CEO's daughter, Sarah Connelly. Security is extremely tight at my dad's company, especially now that some crook broke in and stole his top secret program." Dylan's glare disappeared as the girl spoke. "Wait, you know what program was stolen?" Sarah gave him a "duh" look and nodded. "Of course I know." Now even Joe was interested in where this conversation was going.

Now Sarah's twin sister, Rachel, was looking down at the boys, having been listening in on the conversation. She looked exactly like Sarah, only she had a black streak in her hair and wore slightly less cheery clothes than her sister. She wasn't Goth or emo, she just enjoyed the color black. "Yea, our dad has been telling us about the program over the past few months. He even showed us the completed Beta form a couple of days ago." Dylan's detective skills picked up on that last line. "When was the last time your dad updated the program at his work?" Sarah and Rachel were surprised how quickly Dylan picked up on what Rachel was saying. "Four days ago; that's the last time the program was updated in the main computer." Dylan nodded in understanding with a smile while Joe was completely lost. "Someone mind explaining how that makes the situation any better?" Dylan jumped into action. "Simple; it means that the thief stole an incomplete version of the program. Even if it's only in Beta, it's completely useless to him if it's not complete. I doubt he'll be able to finish the program himself, or else he'd never have had to steal it in the first place."

"That's great and all but I think we're still missing a key piece of information here. What exactly is this program?" Joe asked. The rest of the bus was a world away from these four. Sarah and Rachel shared a look, with Rachel nodding to Sarah, something Dylan thought was her way of saying 'tell them'. "You know how Digimon naturally evolve into different forms over time? You know, Baby to Child, Child to Adult, and so on?" Both boys nodded at Sarah's question. "Well, unless they're badly beaten in battle, there's no way for a Digimon to naturally regress in level. They can't Degenerate without being significantly damaged. Our dad told us this can actually hinder a Digimon in battle."

"But why would a Digimon need to Degenerate? If they're at their strongest level, wouldn't it be stupid to go down a level?" Rachel shook her head at Dylan's question. "That's true when it comes to just sheer power, but think about it. Say you have a MetalGreymon as your partner, but you have to go underground for some reason. There's no way you can bring MetalGreymon with you, he's too big. But if he could Degenerate into an Agumon, then he could follow you and even battle!" Rachel explained. Dylan was starting to see the benefits that came with using this "evolution" program. "Plus, if a Digimon is faster in one of its other forms, like Garurumon is compared to WereGarurumon, then it could Degenerate to that form in order to harness the other form's power."

"One other thing: the program supposedly lets you evolve your Digimon back up to whatever level they were at before. It doesn't just let your Digimon Degenerate, but also evolve. It gives a Digimon full command of its different evolutions. But it doesn't allow them to access a form or level they haven't already naturally evolved into before. Our dad said doing that could possibly break down the Digimon's Core and mutate their Data." Dylan and Joe nodded as they listened to the girls' explanation. Rachel was about to continue when the bus came to a sudden stop: they were at school. With all they were talking about, Dylan forgot they were on the bus in the first place.

The girls' were getting up to leave when Joe asked them to stop. "This program, I'm assuming you know more about it right, like the general make-up of it?" Sarah nodded while Rachel wondered where Joe was going with this. "Would you mind if you told me more about it? I promise not to go reveal any of your information to anyone else; I'm just really curious what this program is like." Sarah and Rachel each looked at each other, as if they were telepathically going over what they should do. "Sure, but on one condition: if you really are going to our dad's company, then we're coming with you. With the two of us you might actually be able to get past security. We want to know who robbed the company just as much as you do." Dylan gave Joe a silent yes which Joe then spoke to the girls. "Okay cool. Come to the library after school today and we'll talk more," Sarah told Joe and Dylan. She and Rachel then began walking off the bus. Dylan could have sworn he saw two horned bunnies poke their heads out of their backpacks as they walked away.

Joe and Dylan quickly followed the girls off the bus, though in the stream of students heading towards the school entrance they lost track of them. Dylan Reloaded Renamon, not wanting to have her cramped inside his D-Pad all day. "I'm going to explore the area and see what kind of Tamers this "high school" has to offer." Leave it to Renamon to check out the competition. She disappeared into thin air, something that always scared Joe. When he asked Dylan how she does that, Dylan shrugged and said he never bothered to ask.

"Why do you want to learn more about the program anyway?" Dylan asked as they walked to Cyber High School's entrance. "Simple; I want to see if I can maybe recreate the program for you and me. If we're actually going up against this robber guy and his Ultimate level Digimon, we'll want to have some sort of advantage. I also want to see what bugs could happen with an incomplete version of the program. If this guy really did take an incomplete version and he blindly loaded it into his D-Pad, it may have serious consequences for his partner Digimon."

"Wait, you're coming with me? Seriously?" That was one of the best things Dylan had heard all day. "Of course I'm coming with you. You think I'd let you and the Connely twins have all the fun? Haguramon and I deserve a piece of the action, especially since I'm going to be giving you a major upgrade." Dylan was nearly bouncing for joy. He was so excited he didn't notice the junior he walked into and knocked over. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry, are you okay?" The angry junior got up and grabbed Dylan by his collar. "Watch where you're going freshmen or I'll pummel your ass!" Dylan wasn't afraid of guys like this, but he really didn't feel like getting into a fight on his first day of high school.

Renamon appeared behind the junior and put a forceful hand on his shoulder. "Get your hands off my Tamer, right now." Oh boy…he loved that Renamon was coming to help him, but he didn't want her to get into trouble along with him. "Aw, isn't that cute. So you let your Digimon fight your battles for you?" Renamon's grip on his shoulder grew stronger, and the junior let Dylan go out of surprise. Renamon swiftly disappeared and reappeared next to Dylan. The other students had noticed the altercation but had been ignoring it for the most part. Now that Renamon had appeared, everyone was watching the event with full attention. Most were surprised that some freshmen had a Renamon for a partner. Renamon's species weren't normally ones to choose human partners, so it was very rare to see one partnered with a human.

"Fine, you want to play it that way! Reload BlackGarurumon!" A large black wolf appeared in a stream of blue data bits in front of the junior. Renamon grabbed Dylan and jumped back from the Digimon. BlackGarurumon growled at Renamon and her Tamer. "Are these little shits the ones we're taking on?" he growled at his tamer. "Yea, take this kid and his worthless Digimon."

"Sweet, I wanted a snack anyway. Fox Fire!" BlackGarurumon fired a stream of black flames from his mouth. Renamon quickly dodged the attack, jumping to the right. Dylan and the other students ducked out of the way of the attack. "Alright I didn't want to fight this guy but it looks like we don't have a choice. Renamon, go in for the attack!" Renamon nodded before charging at BlackGarurumon. BlackGarurumon fired more Fox Fire at her, but she swiftly dodged each attack, disappearing and reappearing every time he fired his flames. Renamon swiftly kicked BlackGarurumon upward while doing a back flip, landing in a kneeling position while BlackGarurumon fell sprawled out in the middle of the hallway.

"That's enough!" A teacher must have heard the commotion because an older woman was now running down the hallway. "For Christ's sake it's the first day of school. You both know Digimon battling is forbidden during school hours!" Renamon jumped backwards and stood by Dylan, who was now worried for whatever consequences would come from this. "Mr. Lahey, as a student who's been going here for three years now I would hope you would know what our school's policies are. Download your Digimon and hand me your D-Pad, right now!" The junior, or Mr. Lahey as the teacher just called him, grimaced before Downloading BlackGarurumon and handing his D-Pad to her.

"The same goes for you young man. Download your Digimon and hand me your D-Pad." Dylan couldn't believe it! Not even two minutes on his first day of high school and his D-Pad was being confiscated. "But I didn't start the fight! I was walking down the hallway and accidentally walked into him! He Reloaded his Digimon and attacked me!" The teacher gave him a stern glare of authority. "Oh really? And your Digimon just happened to be Reloaded?" Dylan didn't know how to respond to that. "Dylan had Reloaded me before entering the school building. He knows I do not like being stored inside the D-Pad. I was exploring the school when I saw this boy put his hands on my Tamer. I appeared and told the boy to release my Tamer. He then Reloaded his Digimon and attacked us."

The teacher looked between Renamon and Dylan. "So you not only Reloaded your Digimon on school grounds, but you let it attack a student?" Dylan didn't like the way this lady called Renamon an "it". There were still people out there that didn't consider Digimon living creatures but just digital pets that were for humans' amusement. "SHE was just looking out for me. And I didn't know Digimon couldn't be reloaded on school grounds. I'm a freshmen and this is my first day of school, I had no idea that rule existed!" The teacher didn't seem to be budging from her decision however. "It doesn't matter! You broke the rules and your Digimon could have seriously harmed Mr. Lahey! Both of you are in the wrong; now hand over your D-Pad before I give you detention!"

"That's enough Ms. Smith; I'll take care of this from here." Ms. Smith turned and scowled at the teacher that just walked forward. Mr. Kenney, the biology and chemistry teacher had come out when he heard Ms. Smith arguing with someone that sounded suspiciously like his nephew. "I have this under control, Mr. Kenney. Shouldn't you be preparing for your first class?" Mr. Kenney chuckled; he had never liked this woman when he went to school here, and he didn't like her now. "I'm actually all prepared for my first class. Are you?" The look on her face told Mr. Kenney she wasn't. "Don't worry, I'll handle this. John, could you please escort yourself to the Student Affairs Office?" John and Ms. Smith both grunted before heading off.

Everyone started to disperse, seeing that the fun was over. "Leave it to you to get in a fight on your first day of school." Dylan looked down at the floor, hoping his uncle wasn't too disappointed in his actions. "You are a Kenney though, and we Kenneys are fighters. We stand up for ourselves when someone confronts us. Just tread lightly 'cause I may not always be there to bail your ass out, okay sport?" Dylan looked up to see his uncle giving him his signature grin while ruffling his hair. Dylan grinned back and gave him a thumbs up. "Cool, now you may want to Download Renamon. Digimon aren't supposed to be out and about during the school day, unless under special circumstances." Dylan looked at Renamon and she nodded in approval. He took out his D-Pad and Downloaded her. "Thanks Uncle Ryan."

"No problem buddy. And call me Mr. Kenney while we're at school. We wouldn't want administration getting mad for being personal. Now get to homeroom, the first bell's gonna ring soon." Dylan nodded and ran off to his homeroom. Mr. Kenney smiled and headed back to his own room, preparing for the day ahead.

The rest of the day was pretty smooth, though news of the fight between Dylan and John spread around the school quickly. Most people were surprised at who Dylan's Digimon partner is and how she easily took down BlackGarurumon. Others said that if the fight had gone on longer, BlackGarurumon would have wiped the floor with Renamon. Dylan's name definitely got around school that day, earning him a few pats on the back and a few glares.

By the end of the day Dylan was significantly less enthusiastic about high school. Most of his teachers didn't like him due to his fight with John, and his classmates either loved him or hated him. He felt like this one thing already defined his high school life for the next four years. At the end of school Dylan met up with John in the library, who was talking with Sarah and Rachel. "Hey guys, what's up?" he asked. "Hey, I was just talking with the girls about the program." Rachel and Sarah nodded in agreement while Joe led them to a table to sit down. They chose one far away from any other students that were in the library, though there were only a few anyway.

"Ok, so let's get down to business. What more can you tell me about this program?" Joe asked the girls. "Well, I can tell you the reason why the program in the main database wasn't the completed version." Both Joe and Dylan perked up at this proposition and nodded for Rachel to continue. "Although our dad was the main person working on this program along with his technicians, there were two outside sources that also helped developed the program. Those outside sources would be Sarah and me. Between the two of us and our dad, we each created about one third of the program separately. We built up off of whatever the previous person had created, with me being the last one to work on the program." Dylan stared at them in shock while Joe stared in admiration. A tech boy like him could gladly admire when someone was intelligent enough to help their wealthy CEO father create a new age program.

"Ok, so then the thief only stole one third of the program? That's good!" Sarah grimaced at Dylan's excitement. "Actually, he stole two thirds. My dad had brought me in last week to update the program in the main database so that Rachel could go after school today and finish it. Then the plan was that my dad's programmers would run bug tests and help create the final version of the program. Obviously that was canceled when the incomplete program was stolen." Dylan sighed in defeat as he realized the thief had gotten off better than he originally believed. "Still, even with two thirds of the program he can't use it. From what you were telling me before Dylan came, the program is useless with even one of the parts missing." Sarah looked hopeful at this reminder, a spark of hope appearing in her eyes.

"How well do you know your dad's part of the program?" Dylan asked. Joe knew where Dylan was going with this, thinking back to what they were talking about earlier. "Not very well; he worked on it mainly in secrecy. The whole point of the three of us creating individual parts of the program was so that, if one of us happened to be kidnapped or one of our parts stolen, we'd be completely useless to our kidnapper. From the way our dad was so secretive, I think he knew that someone was going to steal the program. I don't think he expected it to be so soon though. Why do you ask anyway?" Dylan looked at Joe for approval before continuing. Joe nodded and let Dylan speak. "Well, Joe and I were talking, and we were thinking it may be a good idea to load the finished program into our PDA's in order to give our Digimon a fighting chance." Dylan couldn't tell if Sarah and Rachel were intrigued by this idea or pissed off that Dylan and Joe wanted their dad's program.

"That's actually not a bad idea, but have either of your Digimon evolved to any of their higher forms before?" Joe and Dylan both shook their heads. "Then it's basically useless. Remember, the program doesn't force your Digimon to evolve to a level they haven't naturally reached yet. It would horribly mutate the Digimon's Core and possibly destroy them from the inside out. Still, having the program installed somewhere outside the Connelly family might not be a bad idea."

"Wait, that's right. You said earlier that your dad showed you the final product of the program. That means you finished working on it, at least at home, right?" Sarah chuckled. "Very observant Joe. You're right, we did finish the program. But it was completely deleted after we tested it to make sure it was fully operational. Our dad didn't want to take any chances." Joe sighed. "But, Rachel and I do have our separate programs stored on our D-Pads." Joe's head quickly perked up at this realization. "Joe, how good are you at programming?"

"Joe's one of the best programmers I know! He helped me personalize my D-Pad and fix some bugs that your dad's company actually missed." Joe blushed at his friend's compliment and then mentally slapped him as he just admitted the D-Pad had bugs to the daughters of the creator. "So, if we were to give you our two parts of the program, would you be able to complete it?" Joe looked down for a second in thought. "Well, I can certainly try." Rachel and Sarah nodded and took out their D-Pads, motioning for Joe to do the same. Joe did, and Rachel and Sarah faced their D-Pads at Joe's. Dylan realized they were using the infrared to send the program parts over to Joe, an old function of the D-Pads that most people didn't use anymore since Bluetooth and Wifi functions were added onto the latest models. Dylan was starting to realize just how much secrecy Mr. Connelly took with this program, and questioned even more why some thief with unknown Digimon decided to steal it.

"There, we sent our parts over to you. Before you can combine our parts, though, you'll need to recreate our dad's part first. His is the first part, so our parts will only combine if you do it in the correct order; my dad, Sarah, then me," Rachel explained. Joe was about to respond when a sudden boom was heard out in the hallway. The four kids quickly turned and looked out to see what had happened. Another boom, this time with an explosion, and smoke poured into the library. "Renamon, Reload!" Dylan yelled as the smoke clogged his vision. Renamon appeared in a stream of blue data as the smoke started to disperse.

"Hello there, children. I believe there is something you currently hold that belongs to me," the bowler hat man said as a shadow Digimon with red eyes covering its entire body circled around the four kids and Renamon. "Now hand it over to me, or die."

_I do not own Digimon or anything associated with the franchise. I only own the human characters developed for the story. Reviews are welcomed and appreciated. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Digimon: Network REvolution**

**Chapter 2: …And So It Continues…**

"Now hand it over to me, or die." Those were the words spoken by the bowler hat man just a few moments ago. The four teens and Renamon stood face to face with the man and Digimon that had infiltrated Connelly Industries less than 24 hours ago, and they had no idea what to do. "Dylan, take the girls and get out of here. He's after their respective programs so we need to get them as far away from here as possible," Renamon told Dylan with him nodding in response. "Come on, let's go!" Dylan grabbed Sarah and Rachel's hands and led them out the opposite side of the library. Joe ran after them while yelling, "Wait for me!" Renamon took a fighting stance against her two foes. "How cute; they think they can escape. Shademon, bring the girls to me alive. Use any methods necessary to complete this task." Shademon disappeared into the ground and slithered quickly after the children before Renamon could react.

"No, your fight is with me!" Renamon yelled. The bowler hat man chuckled in response to the Digimon's outcry. "Oh, don't worry dear Renamon. I haven't forgotten about you. ShadowKnightmon, you are needed." A black, misty portal appeared next to the man with a discolored Knightmon stepping out, wielding its sword. Renamon stepped backward from this new Digimon; something was not right about it. "What have you done to that Digimon...?" The bowler hat man chuckled again. "I have unlocked his true capabilities. Now, ShadowKnightmon, why not show our little fox friend here the true nature of your power?" ShadowKnightmon swung his sword around on to his shoulder and charged towards Renamon. Renamon quickly back flipped away from the attack, landing on a book shelf and readying herself for a counter. ShadowKnightmon was quicker, however, charging again at Renamon before she could attack. "Darkness Blade!" ShadowKnightmon's blade became covered in a dark energy as he ran towards Renamon. Renamon jumped away just as ShadowKnightmon's blade cut straight through the book shelf she was standing on. _What the hell is this Digimon?! I can't get past him, and Dylan and the others are in danger!_

"Was that right to leave Renamon to fight that guy all on her own?" Joe asked as the group ran down the hallway away from the library. "Yea, Renamon will be fine." Rachel and Sarah had looks of doubt on their faces as well. "Trust me guys, Renamon will be fine. She's not trying to beat that guy; she's just trying to stall for time. She'll get away and then meet up with us later. But in order for her to do that we have to get out of the school first." Dylan led the group down the steps and were about to make it to the first floor when a shadow swooped by next to them, startling the group. "What the…?" The multi-eyed shadow Digimon that had been with the bowler hat man was now positioned in front of the group, looking menacingly at Sarah and Rachel. "I don't think it likes Sarah and Rachel," Joe whispered. "Wow, what tipped you off? The fact that its Tamer sent it after us or the fact that it's glaring at us from multiple angles," Rachel quipped back. The shadow creature took the opportunity and lunged forward, sinking back into the floor as the group separated to dodge its attack, finishing their trek down the stairs to make it to the first floor hallway.

"What do we do?" Joe yelled. Rachel rolled her eyes and took off her backpack with Sarah doing the same. "What are you two doing?" Dylan asked. Sarah just winked and unzipped her backpack. The shadow creature recovered and lunged at the girls. "Blazing Fire!" Two small fire blasts, one green and one orange, shot forward towards Shademon, slamming it back into the steps. Joe and Dylan looked to see two small bunny-like creatures standing in front of Sarah and Rachel. In front of Sarah was a mostly white bunny creature with green stripes on its ears and chest. In front of Rachel was a mostly black bunny creature with orange stripes on its ears and chest. "Terriermon and BlackTerriermon…wow!" Joe said in surprise. Dylan looked between the two bunnies in wonder. _Weird…isn't Terriermon normally partnered up with its twin Lopmon? I've never seen a Terriermon/BlackTerriermon duo before. _

"Nice shot guys!" Rachel said while throwing her fist up into the air. Shademon was not so happy with this unexpected twist, as it quickly slinked into the wall and slithered back down the steps to face its new adversaries. "Joe, maybe you should get Haguramon out to fight also." Joe shook his head, "You know Haguramon isn't a good fighter. All he'll do is get in the Terriermon's way." Speaking of them, both were now facing off with Shademon. Two more "Blazing Fire" attacks were spat out at Shademon, with it dodging one but then getting hit by the other. "Girls, we should probably get out of here while your Digimon battle Shademon," Dylan told them. Sarah was about to protest when her partner Terriermon spoke up. "Dylan's right; you all need to get out of here now. We'll hold off Shademon!" BlackTerriermon nodded in agreement. "Yeah, leave the multi-eyed freak to us." Sarah and Rachel nodded in unison, told their Digimon to be safe, and then turned and ran with Joe and Dylan. "I hope they'll be alright," Sarah whispered. "Don't worry about them. Renamon will grab them later and escape, trust me."

Renamon was having a difficult time facing ShadowKnightmon. So far all she's been able to do is dodge his attacks. She managed to fire one "Koyousetsu" at her opponent, but it didn't even faze him. _There's no stopping these "Shadow" Digimon. Even at the Perfect level a Knightmon should not be this powerful, _Renamon thought as she narrowly dodged another "Darkness Blade" attack. By now anyone else who was in the library had run for cover or were probably phoning the police. "I must admit you are somewhat of a formidable opponent. Your speed is incredible, surpassing probably even Ultimate level Digimon. I'm afraid, however, that this game has gone on long enough. ShadowKnightmon, finish this." ShadowKnightmon did not respond, instead lifting his sword up to the ceiling as dark energy flowed into the blade. "Testament!" Renamon gasped as ShadowKnightmon spoke the name of his attack. _Isn't that Seraphimon's ultimate move? How does he know it!? _

Renamon's question went unanswered. The next thing she knew the world was filled with light, and then everything went dark.

Terriermon and BlackTerriermon continued to fire their "Blazing Fire" at Shademon, but Shademon was beginning to dodge the attacks. It then snaked its way towards the two bunny Digimon, with both jumping away in opposite directions in order to dodge it. "Code, this thing doesn't quit!" BlackTerriermon said as he landed. "Well we don't have to beat it. We just have to stall for time," Terriermon replied while landing. Shademon rose back up and charged at Terriermon. "Petit Twister!" BlackTerriermon turned into a spinning mini tornado, slamming into Shademon and knocking it into the wall. "Nice hit!" Shademon wasn't down for long, though. It slithered back up and readied itself for another attack. "Now what do we do?" Terriermon asked. "Koyousetsu!"

Renamon ran for the exit as quickly as possible when she heard ShadowKnightmon say the name of his attack. She had just barely made it to the door when the explosive light erupted out of ShadowKnightmon's body. Renamon was hit by the end of the attack, sending her flying out the door and into the hallway wall. She lay on the ground in pain for about a minute before slowly getting up. _Ugh…that attack did so much damage, and I only felt the last bit of it. If I was even an inch closer to ShadowKnightmon, my data would have been utterly destroyed… _Renamon didn't have time to ponder on this, however, because she heard another battle going on nearby. _The others…they must be battling Shademon. _Renamon stood up and ran down the steps, hiding in the shadows. She found a Terriermon and a BlackTerriermon battling against Shademon, their attacks only knocking the shadow Digimon back before he counter attacked. _Those must be the twins' Digimon. I have to distract Shademon long enough to get them out of here. _Renamon leaped out of the shadows and held her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Koyousetsu!" Shining, dangerously sharp leaves appeared before Renamon and then fired down at Shademon. The attack fazed Shademon long enough for Renamon to grab Terriermon and BlackTerriermon and run away from it, disappearing into thin air.

**[Human World, Cyber City, 4:34 P.M.]**

Dylan had been leading the others away from the school for the last 10 minutes. "Where exactly are you taking us, Dylan?" Joe asked. He knew they were going the wrong way to be going to Dylan's house, unless Dylan thought Shademon might be following them and wanted to throw it off. "Just trust me and keep running," Dylan said while they made another seemingly random turn. They kept running in the open streets until Dylan made a sudden left into an alleyway, with the others just barely being able to make the turn in time before running straight past it. Dylan led the group through the alleyway before stopping in front of an abandoned looking building. Dylan took out a key from under a stray rock and unlocked the door before entering, gesturing the others to follow. Although skeptical of entering the abandoned building, they didn't want to face the alternative of Shademon finding them.

Dylan shut the door behind everyone and locked it. He then grabbed something next to the door and switched it on, with Sarah and Rachel realizing it was a light orb. Light orbs had become very popular over the last few years, with them being small enough to just fit in someone's hand while being able to light up the majority of the room a person was standing in. Looking around the room, the others now saw it was indeed an abandoned building, but Dylan seemed to have added a few things; a slightly beat up couch, a small TV, and a computer area. "So, what do you think?" Sarah gulped back, not wanting to think about whatever vermin may be in this place. "It's…quaint. Why did you bring us to an abandoned building?" Dylan walked over to the couch and sat down. "Because, this is mine and Renamon's hideout and meeting place. Once she gets away from the bowler hat man and Shademon, she'll come here with your Digimon." Dylan's words made Joe realize something they had all overlooked in their panic earlier. "Wait…why was Shademon able to go after us in the first place? Why wasn't it fighting Renamon? I doubt she'd let it go so that she could fight its human Tamer." Contrary to Joe's belief, Dylan had thought about this before when Shademon appeared in front of them. "I just assumed the bowler hat man had another Digimon with him that Renamon had to fight before she could come and help us."

"You would be correct, Dylan." Joe, Rachel, and Sarah jumped in shock as Renamon seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Terriermon and BlackTerriermon were hanging off her shoulders, each having an ear grab onto Renamon's back. "How does she do that?" Joe asked, breathing slowly to calm down. "Do what?" Renamon asked with a genuine quizzical look on her face. Dylan just chuckled before waving it off while Sarah and Rachel were just overjoyed that their partners returned to them unharmed. "Ok, so where do we go from here?" Joe asked. Dylan looked to Renamon and the two shared a look that told the others they were completely in sync with each other. That was why Dylan knew Renamon would escape the school alive and how Renamon knew where to find Dylan after escaping. They've known each other for a long time and it certainly shows.

Renamon gave Dylan a nod of approval before he spoke. "We're going to stick to the plan and go to Connelly Industries." Sarah was apprehensive to this idea. "Shouldn't we go to the police and tell your dad what happened? I don't think we can handle this on our own." Rachel and Joe looked like they agreed with Sarah. "I can call my dad on the way there. The bowler hat man will probably expect that we'd go to the police so we're going to throw him off and head to Connelly Industries. I'll tell my dad to meet us there to give us some back up. But we need to get you two," this was addressed at the twins, "into the computer lab so we can figure out what exactly this guy wants with your program. It's our only way of stopping him. Besides, we can probably set up a little trap for him there too."

One by one each human and Digimon in the room slowly considered Dylan's plan before finally succumbing to it and nodding in agreement. Dylan put his hand out and Renamon put her hand on top of his. The others realized what they were doing and each put his or her hand on top of the previous person's, with the Terriermon adding in their ears. "Let's go guys!"

The teens and their Digimon moved quickly to Connelly Industries, using back alleys to avoid the bowler hat man and Shademon. "So, what exactly is our plan? We're just going to storm into dad's company and do…what?" Rachel asked as the group ran. "I was hoping you could just get us through security since you're, you know, the daughters of the CEO!" Dylan responded. "We may have been able to a few days ago, but I doubt they'll let even us through with the company being infiltrated last night." The group decided to leave the "how to" for when they actually arrived at Connelly Industries.

Dylan was expecting the bowler hat man to cut them off at some point, or to at least see Shademon poke its ugly head out from an alleyway. Surprisingly, he didn't see either one at any point, and in less than a half-an-hour the group had arrived at Connelly Industries. Everyone stopped outside the building and sat down on a park bench, hoping to have a minute to think things through before barging in. "So…any ideas?" Terriermon asked as he walked along the bench railing. "Well, how about we Download our Digimon and just head in. I mean you two are the daughters of the CEO. They have to let you in," Joe suggested. "Not going to fly; us being the daughters of the CEO is the exact reason why we will not get in. They'll detain us for our own 'protection'. We were actually supposed to have bodyguards watching us today, but we ditched them and snuck on the school bus." Joe and Dylan were shocked to hear this from Rachel. "That would've been nice to know earlier," Joe replied. Rachel just shrugged her shoulders and picked up BlackTerriermon, petting his head as she did so. "Ok, well how about this-" Dylan was cut off by a sudden explosion inside Connelly Industries. "We go see what the hell that was!"

**[Human World, Connelly Industries, 5:32 P.M.]**

The others nodded and ran inside the building behind Dylan and Renamon. Any guards that would've stopped them from running in the doors were running towards the stairs and elevators to get to whatever floor the explosion was on. "There's no way we can get to the explosion sight with all those guards heading the same way." Sarah sidestepped an employee that was running out the door when she spotted an odd looking plant by the wall. The plant was some really rare miniature tree her dad had purchased for the lobby a while back. He had told her how there was one of these plants on every floor and that if anything bad ever happened at the company, that she and Rachel were to get to one of these plants immediately. _"But how can a plant help us?" _Sarah had asked quizzically. _"Trust me; you'll know how it can help when the time is right." _She guessed now was a better time than ever to check it out and find out what her dad meant.

"Guys, follow me! I think I have an idea." Sarah ran over to the plant and began to check it out. Terriermon was on her head and looked at the plant curiously, wondering why her Tamer was examining it during the middle of a crisis. The others ran over, thinking the same thing. "Um Sarah, I know you've always liked dad's plants and all, but this isn't really the time to be checking one out!" her sister scorned. "Did dad ever tell you about going to these plants if there was ever any danger in the company?" Rachel shook her head slowly. "Well, he told me. He said that if anything ever happened, we were to get to these plants right away." Realizing there was nothing in the plant or the pot it was in, Sarah pushed the plant out of the way and started to check the wall behind it. Finding a random small circle, she pushed it in and watched as the wall split in half. "Whoa…" Sarah said as she stepped back surprised. "Your father set up a hidden elevator," Renamon said as she walked towards it. She was right; Mr. Connelly had set up a secret elevator for Rachel and Sarah to use.

Everyone stepped inside the elevator, which was just big enough for them to fit in. "Do we even know what floor the explosion was on?" BlackTerriermon asked. "No…but I can sense something…something powerful. Hit the button for the highest floor and I'll tell you when to stop the elevator," Renamon instructed Sarah. She nodded in response and hit the top button. The elevator doors closed and the words "Hold on tight" shined in red letters above the doors. Sarah and Rachel did as instructed and grabbed onto the side railings while Joe and Dylan shrugged and ignored it. In an instant, the elevator shot up from its stationary position, going faster than any elevator Dylan had ever been in. He and Joe quickly struggled over to the side railings and grabbed on for dear life. Renamon simply stood still with her arms crossed, unfazed by the speeding elevator. The elevator kept towering up the floors until finally Renamon hit the stop button, causing the elevator to cease its assent with a mighty jolt. Everyone besides Renamon stumbled out of the elevator as the doors opened, with her casually walking out of it. Everyone also forgot that there would be a plant waiting for them outside of the doors, causing them all to trip over it. Renamon sidestepped the plant and walked in front of the group, looking around for the power she sensed. "It's that way," she said while pointing down the left hallway.

Rachel looked up at the signs above them and read that they were currently on the 40th floor. "Hey, this is the floor that the main computer lab is kept on. You know, the room that ShadowSeraphimon and the bowler hat man were found in yesterday." Sarah nodded, remembering the report she and Rachel had found in her dad's study this morning. "Why return to the scene of the crime? The program wasn't here yesterday. Does he expect to find it there now?" Dylan thought for a few seconds before he realized something. "Maybe the program isn't here…but your dad is." Rachel and Sarah's expressions quickly turned grim as they realized what the bowler hat man was really after. "We've got to hurry!"

**[Human World, Connelly Industries' Computer Lab, 5:42 P.M.]**

"Have all the employees on the lower floors escaped?" Mr. Connelly asked as he ran from one side of the room to the other. His scientists and programmers were working quickly to get everyone out of the building, sending silent alarms and messages to police and security guards. The last thing he wanted was for an employee or civilian to be harmed during this crisis. "95% of the employees have made it outside the building and the last 5% are on their way out. All that will be left is us and the intruder." Mr. Connelly released his sigh and nodded in relief. "Okay, begin locking down the room. The intruder will definitely be heading here, especially if he thinks he can find whatever he was looking for yesterday." Very few of his employees knew about the program he and his daughters had been working on and he didn't want anyone else to know so that they would not have a connection to it. If the intruder began questioning his employees, he didn't want them to have any information that could put them in danger.

"Sir, the intruder is on the 40th floor. I'm getting two signals, one definitely human and the other one…unrecognizable." _Of course…he must have another one of his strange Digimon with him_, Mr. Connelly thought. "Understood; everyone, begin moving to the escape elevator and head down to the lower floors. I will finish the lock-up here." His head programmers began to protest, stating it was too dangerous. "I won't take no for an answer. Get out of here now and leave the rest to me! Leave no human or Digimon behind." Everyone silently gave in and began moving to the four hidden elevators Mr. Connelly had installed for security measures. Digimon all around were being Downloaded in order to fit everyone inside the elevators and make it down in one trip.

Richard Connelly continued to work on the laboratory lock down, though he knew the intruder would make it through the defenses; he just wanted to buy the police as much time as they needed to arrive. He then took out his D-Pad and called out his partner Digimon, Sleipmon. The centaur shaped Ultimate materialized next to his Tamer, aware of the dire situation they were facing. "I will stand guard at the door. Finish the security protocols and leave quickly." Richard was about to argue with his partner but knew it would do no good; once Sleipmon had made a decision he stuck to it and would not be swayed.

**[Human World, Connelly Industries' 40****th**** Floor, 5:56 P.M.]**

"We've been in this hallway five times!" Dylan yelled as they entered the same hallway for what was actually the second time. "Well I'm sorry but it's hard to follow the usual route to the lab when Mr. I-like-to-destroy-hallways decides to blow up the majority of the 40th floor." Rachel wasn't exaggerating though; the majority of the 40th floor had been torn apart, and not by the explosion the group saw earlier. The bowler hat man was not in a good mood and he took his anger out on the hallways and corridors. "I will lead the way…I can still sense the powerful energy coming from his partner Digimon," Renamon said as she took charge of the group.

Renamon led the group down several hallways, following her senses to the origin of the power source. "We're almost there, so be ready." The group kept following Renamon until she made a sudden stop right before the end of the hallway they were currently in. "He's right around the corner," Renamon whispered. The others nodded in understanding and readied themselves to attack. Before anyone could make a move, however, another explosion was heard around the corner. "Oh no!"

Sleipmon quickly jumped out of the way as the doors flew towards him. The doors headed in Mr. Connely's direction and were going hit him if it wasn't for the intervention of his partner knocking him out of the way. "He's here." The bowler hat man walked in with Shademon just as Mr. Connelly spoke. "Hello there Richard…long time, no see." Mr. Connelly glared at the man, not willing to conform to his twisted nostalgia. "Adrian…what do you want?" Mr. Connelly knew exactly what he wanted, and Adrian knew this as well, but any time bought was time well spent in this situation. "Don't bullshit with me Richard. You know exactly why I am here." Richard slowly got up from his fallen position and stood up tall, looking straight into Adrian's eyes. "You know the program isn't here, so why return?" Adrian now smirked and took out his concealed gun, slowly putting bullets into it while saying, "Simple: the program may not be here," which he said as raised his gun at his old friend, "but you are."

The gun that was being held by Adrian suddenly shot out of his hand and clattered to the ground. "Sorry, but we can't let you do that."

**[Two minutes earlier]**

The group stood in bewilderment as the explosion rang through all of their heads. "We're too late…" Sarah said with her head down. "No…the bowler hat man wouldn't kill your dad. He still needs him." Dylan led the group to a corner and peered around it into the recently-exploded hallway. Joe was about to say something when Dylan shushed him and stuck his head a little into the hallway. He could barely hear the conversation, but he could hear a gun being taken out with bullets being put into it. "He's got a gun!" Dylan shout whispered. Renamon heard these words and quickly moved toward the room, disappearing before everyone's eyes. The next noise the group heard was a gun being hit and falling to the floor. "Let's move!"

The group followed Dylan's lead, running down the hallway until they made it to the entrance of the computer lab. Renamon had materialized within the room, standing about five feet away from the bowler hat man and Shademon, with the rest of the group standing behind the criminals. "Took you brats long enough to get here; I practically left a trail for you to follow." Most of the teens and Digimon were surprised by this statement. "You mean to tell us you knew we were following you through the building?" Joe asked nervously. "Knew it…please, I was counting on it."

Dylan was actually counting on the fact that the bowler hat man, or Adrian as he was apparently named, knew of the group's presence. The destruction to the building was just too extreme for a simple kidnapping job. "You wanted us to come so that you could get your hands on Sarah and Rachel, right?" Adrian gave a slight chuckle in response to Dylan's question. "Intelligent child…though I suppose you had to have inherited some detective skills from your father. However, I am afraid this is where your little quest ends. I will be taking the Connelly family now."

"Yeah right freak show! There's nine of us and only two of you!" Adrian smirked at Rachel's comment. "Two? Obviously you never learned how to count." Rachel was about to question him when she and the others were pushed aside by a powerful force. A Devimon rippled into existence from the shadows, grinning maniacally at the others. This Devimon was different, however, like the other Digimon associated with Adrian. This Devimon was colored completely black with only red eyes shining through and was maintaining a menacing aura of pure evil.

"ShadowDevimon, take care of our intruders except for the two girls; Shademon and I will handle them." Mr. Connelly, who had been silent during this whole escapade from the shock of seeing his daughters here, finally found his voice. "No Adrian! Your battle is with me, not these children!" Adrian then did something that shocked everyone…he fired his gun at Mr. Connelly. Luckily, Sleipmon knocked the bullet into the wall, though Adrian had probably expected this. "I am afraid to inform you of this, Richard, but your daughters are just as much a part of this as you are." At these words Sleipmon charged at Shademon, intending to take it out and then follow suit with its master. Shademon anticipated the charge, quickly slithering into the shadows and reappearing behind Sleipmon. Sleipmon countered, swinging at Shademon, only for it to disappear once again.

The battle between Sleipmon and Shademon triggered the other Digimon to regain their balance and square off with ShadowDevimon. During the confusion Adrian ran towards Mr. Connelly with his gun back in his hand, only for Renamon to block his path as he finally reached his target. "Ah yes, you are that Child level Digimon from the school. I must admit, I was actually impressed with your battle ability last time." Renamon readied her arms in what looked like a defensive stance but what anyone who knew her fighting style would recognize as her preparing her special attack. "Don't be too cocky now, this is no ordinary gun. This gun's bullets have been designed to hurt both humans and Digimon. Sleipmon may have bounced it off easily, but something tells me you won't be so lucky."

Back over with ShadowDevimon, the two Terriermon charged at it, firing their "Blazing Fire" attacks at the devil Digimon. It quickly disappeared into the shadows, similar to Shademon yet somehow different. Dylan took notice of this transition, realizing its disappearing act wasn't as smooth as Shademon's. "Guys, ShadowDevimon has a harder time disappearing!" Joe and Rachel looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean?" Joe asked. "Watch how it disappears into the shadows next time it reappears. It can't disappear as well as Shademon can. Maybe you can use that to your advantage." Dylan turned to run into the computer room when Joe grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. "What are you doing?" "I'm going in there to help Renamon and Mr. Connelly out. You guys can handle this creep out here. Maybe you should call Haguramon out, you know, for some back up!" With that Dylan ran inside the computer room, making sure to avoid the intense battle still going on between Sleipmon and Shademon.

Dylan ran around the computer consoles to reach Renamon's location. Dylan took notice to the fact that Sleipmon was trying to protect the room while he battled, thoughShademon did not have the same intentions in mind, taking down whatever technology was in its way of attacking Sleipmon. Dylan made it close enough to Renamon to finally see her defending Mr. Connelly from Adrian. Dylan hid behind a computer console and watched as Renamon grabbed Mr. Connelly and avoided Adrian's gunfire. She jumped over the computer consoles and hid behind the same one Dylan was behind, having noticed him run behind it earlier. She set Mr. Connelly down and grabbed her arm in pain, having been grazed by one of the bullets. "Renamon, how badly are you injured?" Dylan always hated when people asked if someone is okay or alright. Obviously if someone was just injured then they are not alright.

"The wound stings but I will survive. Mr. Connelly, are you injured at all?" Mr. Connelly checked himself and gave Renamon and Dylan a thumbs-up. "I'm all good here. My daughters…are they alright?" Dylan turned and looked at the battle back in the hallway, seeing Terriermon and BlackTerriermon battle against ShadowDevimon. After getting the okay from Sarah, Terriermon would fire a "Blazing Fire" at ShadowDevimon, forcing it to disappear. Then, Rachel and sometimes Joe would instruct BlackTerriermon at where to fire his "Blazing Fire" in anticipation of ShadowDevimon's reappearance. The plan worked perfectly, always hitting ShadowDevimon spot on and slowly tiring it out.

"I think they're doing just fine. We've got to get you and them out of here though! Come on!" Dylan grabbed Mr. Connelly's arm and led him and Renamon back toward the doorway out of the computer lab. "Wait! There's something I need to grab from my lab first!" Mr. Connelly got out of Dylan's grip and ran towards the wall where a door suddenly opened after he hit a concealed button. Adrian had noticed what Mr. Connelly was up to and was about to fire at him when Renamon appeared and knocked the gun out of his hand. Dylan looked over and saw how Sleipmon and Shademon were still trading blows and knew this was the group's only opportunity to make a move. "Sarah, Rachel, Joe, come on! Let Terriermon and BlackTerriermon battle against ShadowDevimon!" Rachel and Sarah exchanged worried glances. "But without us, our Digimon won't be able to attack ShadowDevimon." Terriermon jumped back from his recently fired attack and ran over to Sarah. "Don't worry; we've caught onto its movements by now. You guys need to go and help your dad out!" Sarah reluctantly nodded her head and said "Okay." She, Rachel, and Joe then ran past the battle between Sleipmon and Shademon into the secret room her dad had opened. Dylan had already entered and was waiting for the others to come so that he could seal the door.

"So why are we in here when we should be running away?" The question was asked out loud but was clearly directed at Mr. Connelly. "I needed to grab my part of the program from my computer. I had deleted the versions I had on me in fear of being kidnapped. I hadn't expected Adrian to return to the company this soon." Joe heard an explosion come from outside the room and began to get worried. The room the group was currently in barely fit all of them, considering it only contained a long table with computer equipment, a shelf full of old books and hard drives, and a desk with the latest Connelly model laptop and computer system. It certainly wouldn't hold up against any direct attack by Shademon or ShadowDevimon.

That's when Joe got an idea. "Wait sir! Since we're in here with your computer and we have all three parts of the program, why don't we finish the product?" Mr. Connelly looked at shock at the young man. He had slipped up when he spoke about his part of the program out of sheer panic, but he didn't expect the two unknown boys to understand what he was talking about. Well, one unknown boy; Mr. Connelly had recognized Daniel Kenney's son after Adrian identified him as such. "Why in the name of all things digital would I comply with that madman's wishes and complete the program?!"

"Because we can use the program ourselves! Your daughters showed me there parts of the program earlier and I was able to develop and add-on to the program that might make it even better than you imagined!" Joe hadn't mentioned this little tidbit of information earlier, though Dylan guessed he couldn't blame him with all that was going on today. When did he even have time to create his add-on anyway? "You're saying you've changed the program?" Mr. Connelly asked incredulously. "Not necessarily; I didn't touch your daughters' program parts, but I did create my own add-on from the data I saw. If I can see your part of the program I can add on the finishing touches to make sure it doesn't interfere with anything and we can put everything together!"

Mr. Connelly pondered on this proposition for some time and didn't see many other options. The police, if they were even here yet, would most likely not arrive in time before they were all blown to smithereens. Another explosion back in the lab solidified his decision. "Very well, come over here. Sarah and Rachel, you two come here as well. It's time we finished our project." Sarah, Joe, and Rachel all ran over to Mr. Connelly's desk, with Mr. Connelly sitting in the chair behind his desk and the other three circling around him and looking at his computer screen. Mr. Connelly handed his daughters two link cables and told them to plug their D-Pads into the computer while ordering Joe to do the same with the laptop. The four programmers went to work, typing away at speeds Dylan could never hope to match. The room suddenly shook again, Dylan just dodging a book as it fell from the shelf above him.

"Um guys, you may want to hurry up with your little science project!" If anyone heard Dylan they didn't show signs of it. "This addition to the program is incredible…you were actually able to augment the Digimon's core without causing severe damage and deterioration!" Dylan looked at Mr. Connelly in confusion. "What exactly did Joe do?" Mr. Connelly stayed silent for a few seconds before responding with, "He's basically created the Super Soldier Serum for Digimon! His program add-on coincides with our program's ability to allow a Digimon full control over its evolutions. The add-on actually increases a Digimon's stats, attacks, and durability without threatening its core or inducing long-term side-effects. By creating an outer shell to the core that sends data into it without actually manipulating its original structure, he's successfully completed and enhanced my program's final form!" Dylan understood about half of what came out of Mr. Connelly's mouth but got the gist of it. "So…any Digimon that get's this program will be able to evolve into its other forms and will be more powerful than a regular Digimon?" Joe nodded his head, "Yup!"

The door behind Dylan shook violently; someone was trying to get in. "Dylan, come over here!" Joe called to him. Dylan quickly ran over to the desk and stood next to Joe. "Plug your D-Pad into Mr. Connelly's laptop!" Dylan gave him a quizzical look but did as he was told, picking up a link cable from Mr. Connelly's desk and plugging it into the laptop. He looked over Mr. Connelly's shoulder to see a bar up to 94% on his screen. "Almost there…"

Another explosion shook the room, though the humans had gotten used to this sudden eruption. "Here…we…go!" Mr. Connelly hit ENTER on his computer and put in some more computer code. He then wirelessly sent the program to the laptop Joe was using, allowing Joe to access it and begin uploading it into his and Dylan's D-Pads. Mr. Connelly was doing the same for Sarah and Rachel's phones. The door suddenly shook again, more violently then the last time. "Glad to know that titanium enforced door was a good idea."

Dylan looked nervously at the screen and saw that the upload was only now reaching 50%. "Come on, almost there…just a little bit more!" Each and every person was watching their screens with such intensity that they ignored the next quake that shook through the room. This one was more powerful than any of the previous quakes, however. _56%...63%...69%...74%...BOOM…83%...87%...92%. _A piece of the door finally broke off after another hit. Dylan looked up and saw ShadowDevimon's eye now menacingly peering through the new hole in the door. "We're out of time!" _100%._

"Go, go, go!" Everyone detached their phones from the computer and quickly ran away from the desk. Mr. Connelly grabbed his laptop and stuck it in a backpack he had next to his desk. "Joe, hold onto this please and make sure you do not lose it, no matter what! The only thing more important than this laptop is your life and the lives of my daughters! Understand?" Joe was shocked with this sudden responsibility but nodded his head confidently. "Um guys, we still have an issue…how do we get out of here? Mr. Red-Eyes over there isn't just going to let us waltz out." Rachel was right: they were basically stuck in there. Dylan assumed Terriermon and BlackTerriermon were either down for the count or were helping someone else out in his or her battle. Wait a second….that's it!

"Renamon!" Dylan called out. The others looked at him like he was insane. How did he expect Renamon to hear him from the other side of the room? Sure enough, though, ShadowDevimon suddenly went flying away from the door. Dylan quickly ran over and hit the button to open the door with Renamon standing on the other side. "You rang?" Dylan called out to the others to follow him, everyone slowly piling out of the room. "Okay so…how exactly do we use our new programs?" Dylan asked Sarah. Sarah, in turn, looked to her dad for the answer. "There should be a new app on your D-Pads. Open it and it should automatically begin transferring the data to your Digimon. Then, things will get interesting."

The teens did as they were told, opening the new EVO apps that had been installed on their phones. As the apps opened, a loading bar appeared on their phones and began to transfer the data to Renamon, Terriermon, Black Terriermon, and Haguramon. In Haguramon's case, the program was working a lot faster because he was already in Joe's D-Pad. Speaking of Terriermon and BlackTerriermon, Sarah and Rachel were able to locate their Digimon partners fighting with Sleipmon against Shademon. Renamon appeared next to the group saying, "The Terriermon began helping Sleipmon after Shademon gained the upper hand. I handled ShadowDevimon and Adrian tried to shoot his way into your room." Speaking of Adrian, he was slowly getting up from the ground and grasping around for his gun.

Renamon was about to explain why he was on the floor when she suddenly stopped moving. Terriermon and BlackTerriermon also stopped in mid-combat, leaving Sleipmon to battle against Shademon alone again. ShadowDevimon was slowly recovering from Renamon's earlier attack, locking his eyes on the group of humans standing near the hidden room maliciously. "Um…Renamon?" Renamon would not move, her eyes not blinking, her entire body ridged. Dylan looked down at his phone to see 100% flashing on his screen.

Suddenly, a blue light erupted out of Renamon, Terriermon, BlackTerriermon, and Joe's phone. The light stopped the three criminals in their tracks, each locking eyes on one of the glowing Digimon, mesmerized. After about five seconds the glow dimmed away and the Digimon regained mobility. "Whoa…are you alright Renamon?" Dylan remembered how he hated saying that but he was too frazzled by what had just happened to come up with something cleverer. "Yes…in fact, I've never felt better." Renamon stood tall and looked down at her hand, flexing it with newfound power oozing out of her. "Hey big boy," she said pointing at ShadowDevimon, "let's dance!"

In a flash Renamon disappeared, kicking ShadowDevimon into the wall. ShadowDevimon was left in a massive crater, groaning in pain. Terriermon and BlackTerriermon used their "Petit Twister" attacks to slam into Shademon, effectively ripping him apart and forcing him to begin regeneration.

"You gave them the program, didn't you Richard…" Adrian was obviously enraged by the sudden turn of events. He hadn't expected Mr. Connelly to give his precious program to mere children and their Child level Digimon. "You've lost Adrian…give yourself up now, before you fall down the hole you've created." Adrian and Richard locked eyes for a few moments, the room tense with history that the children and Digimon were unaware of. Not even Sleipmon knew the full history that existed between this agent of terrorism and this agent of advancement. "I may have lost the battle, Richard, but the war is only just beginning. You will see me again, believe me. Shademon, it is time we take our leave." Shademon regenerated itself fully and slithered over to Adrian. It gave what looked like a strained glance over at ShadowDevimon. "Leave it…its useless to us now anyway."

"Stop them!" Mr. Connelly yelled, but it was too late; in the blink of an eye, Adrian and Shademon had disappeared. The second the two disappeared, the police stormed into the room with guns drawn and Digimon ready to attack. "Everyone put your hands-" Daniel Kenney stopped midsentence as he caught sight of his son standing in the midst of a ravaged battlefield. "Hehe…hey dad…"

_I apologize for the extremely long hiatus. I do not own Digimon or anything associated with the franchise. I only own the human characters developed for this story. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Digimon: Network REvolution**

**Chapter 3: The End of the Beginning**

**[Human World, Connelly Industries, 7:06 P.M.]**

"Are you out of your minds!?" The kids and their Digimon were standing outside Connelly Industries. Police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances filled up the outside parking lot, having arrived shortly after Chief Kenney and his unit appeared on the scene. Mr. Connelly was explaining what had occurred to another group of officers while the medics looked after anyone that had been injured in the attack. Twelve people were killed in the initial explosion that had gained the group's attention; everyone else escaped with some scrapes and bruises, but nothing major. While all this chaos was taking place, Chief Kenney was scolding the teens and their partners on their brash actions.

"You not only put yourselves in danger by not coming to the police right away, but you also put Mr. Connelly and every employee in that building in danger! You could have all been severely injured, or worse! If it wasn't for Mr. Connelly and his partner being able to hold off the terrorist and his Digimon, you could have all been killed!" That was one thing Dylan had noticed in every report he had overheard tonight: there was no mention of Mr. Connelly's program or the fact that the teens uploaded this very same program into their Digimon partners. "Weren't you supposed to call your dad on the way to the company?" Joe whispered to Dylan as Mr. Kenney was still yelling. "I may have forgotten…" Dylan wasn't really lying about this part; he was so worried about running into Adrian or Shademon that he completely forgot to shoot his dad a message saying where he was going or who he was with.

"I can promise you this much, especially for you Dylan, you will all be facing serious consequences! I still can't believe you all went ahead and –" Chief Kenney was cut off as a hand was placed on his shoulder. "That's enough Chief, I think they understand what you're telling them. Believe it or not, if it wasn't for these brave children, Sleipmon and I wouldn't have lasted as long as we did. They put up quite a fight, and considering the circumstances, they were probably too afraid to go to the police. My daughters were obviously being stalked by the felon, and it's my fault for not giving them the necessary protection." Sarah and Rachel blushed at their dad's comment, knowing very well he had given them body guards that they ran away from.

"I think we should just chop this up to a learning experience, make sure they don't do it again, and leave it at that. No real need to punish ambitious youngsters who simply wanted to help. Sure, they may have put themselves in danger but what's life without a few risks. If I were in their shoes, I probably would have done the same thing, and I know you would have too, Dan." Dan mentally groaned at Mr. Connelly's implied tone. He had shared several stories with Mr. Connelly during their meeting earlier about the attack on his company. Dan Kenney had plenty of childhood stories about how he always ran headfirst into trouble and tried to help as many people as possible; his son had to get it from somewhere.

"Fine, fine, I won't press any serious punishments. I will, however, give you all a serious warning. This goes especially for you young man, and you Renamon." Dylan noticeably grimaced at his dad's mentioning of him while Renamon kept her normal stoic expression. "Do not ever purposely go after these types of Digimon terrorists ever again, or any form of danger for that matter! That is a job that is left up to the police or other trained professionals, but not four teenagers who just started high school and their Child level partners. Do I make myself clear?" The group nodded their heads in unison, wanting to escape this lecture as soon as possible.

Chief Kenney went to say something else when his partner Dukemon called him over to discuss matters with another police officer. "I have to go check something. You three," he said pointing to Joe, Dylan, and Renamon, "stay here. Mr. Connelly, you can do with your daughters as you see fit, just please make sure they stay out of the way of everyone working." Mr. Connelly nodded in response, though Chief Kenney was already jogging over to Dukemon. 

* * *

><p>"What have we got?" the Chief asked as he approached Dukemon and Officer Greendale. "Well, you were right to suggest we scan the area sir. The residual digital energy left behind by the culprit's Digimon is the same energy signature we found the first time he attacked." Dukemon gave Dan a look that said they'd discuss this in private later. Officer Greendale missed this silent conversation and continued with his report. "Also, a squad has successfully restrained the Digimon known as ShadowDevimon and is currently having him shipped off to the Research Lab for further examination. We should receive more information within the next few days." The Chief nodded absentmindedly and looked up at Connelly Industries. "Is something wrong sir?"<p>

"No, nothing, I'd just like to reexamine the crime scene. Dukemon, let's go take a look." Chief Kenney and Dukemon then walked off, leaving Greendale to just shrug his shoulders and go meet up with his partner Knightmon.

* * *

><p>"Thank you for covering for us Mr. Connelly," Dylan said as his dad walked away. Mr. Connelly chuckled in response. "Oh please, it's the least I can do after all of you came to my aid like you did. But now, I'm afraid, we have more serious matters to discuss." The dire tone settled itself within the group as Mr. Connelly led them to a more secluded area to talk. "Now, you may have noticed but I did not mention the fact that we uploaded the EVO program into your Digimon."<p>

"Yea, I caught on to that after I heard a few of the reports. Why didn't you tell the police?" Dylan asked. "Simple: I'm overly cautious and highly paranoid. I believe Adrian may be getting information through law-abiding sources. I don't believe the police are helping him, but I do think Adrian has hacked into the police database before to retrieve information on me. The specs for Connelly Industries are stored within the police database for security reasons so it does add up."

"I also would prefer to not have the police sniffing around too closely for right now. The EVO program is still in Beta technically and I don't need it being on national television by tomorrow due to it being hunted down by a lunatic with a few corrupt Digimon. I'd rather we keep this between us for the time being, at least until I can learn more about Adrian and his plans."

The others took a minute to soak all of this in. Finally, Renamon lifted her head and set her attention on Mr. Connelly. "So, where do we go from here?" Mr. Connelly crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. "Honestly, I'm not quite sure. My suggestion would be to just return to normal life and keep our eyes open for Adrian. My daughters and I can keep a close eye on the Network. I highly doubt he'll try another attack, not with him being beaten as badly as he was. No, he'll try some new tactics, but it won't be a full out attack like this."

Everyone seemed satisfied with this answer so Mr. Connelly continued. "Now, our second concern is the EVO programs currently stored within each of you Digimon." Renamon looked down at her hands, remembering the feeling of power that surged through her as the program was uploaded into her. "We need to monitor the effects the program will have on each of your digital makeups. I want you Tamers to contact me if you see anything odd occurring or if any problems arise. I went over the specs three times before allowing you to download the program into your D-Pads but I could have easily missed something. The last thing I want is for your Digimon to be deleted due to my carelessness."

"What effect will the program have on the Digimon's evolution process?" Joe asked this question, and Mr. Connelly picked up on the urgency in his voice. Joe had been thinking about this since he uploaded the program to his Hagurumon, who still had yet to make an actual appearance. "The program will not affect your Digimon as far as evolution goes until they actually evolve. When each one evolves, you will have the option to switch them between their new forms at will. The process is painless and will only take about three seconds, but it's really nothing to worry about right now. If I am correct, none of you have evolved passed the Child level, correct?" Renamon and the Terriermon nodded. "Yes, something else to keep an eye on then."

"Mr. Connelly, if you wouldn't mind coming over here for a moment. We have a few more questions for you." An officer and his partner, WereGarurumon, had come over and accidentally disrupted the private meeting going on. "Very well; girls, do me a favor and stay here with the others while I speak with the officer. Once I'm finished we'll head home." Mr. Connelly walked away with the officer and his partner, letting the young group finally talk in private.

* * *

><p>"Why did you want to recheck the crime scene?" Dukemon and his partner were currently in the elevator going up to the 40th floor to recheck the scene. The majority of the floor was trashed by Shademon and ShadowDevimon, though the destruction led Dan and Dukemon straight to the computer lab. Several officers were still around taking pictures and taking samples from wherever they could. Dan went over to a Snimon and asked him to round everyone up and head out. The Insect Digimon clicked his scythe-arms in acceptance and went to round all the officers up.<p>

"You have been silent and uncharacteristically secretive about why we are here." It wasn't a question; Dukemon wanted to know what Dan was up to. "Connelly's story doesn't add up in my head. I don't think Sleipmon was able to defeat his opponents as easily as we were told." Dukemon watched as his partner perused the crime scene, taking in every detail of the lab, every dent in a wall, every damaged computer. "The official report states that Sleipmon was able to fend off against Shademon and ShadowDevimon with some minor backup from the children's Digimon. Although the report states Sleipmon was able to handle the two enemy Digimon, Connelly stated that his partner would not have won without support from Renamon, Terriermon, and BlackTerriermon. What is wrong with this report?" Dukemon asked.

"Do you trust the report?" Dan retorted, ignoring his partner's question. "I trust Sleipmon and, by extension, his Tamer. I have known Sleipmon for many years; we served on LordSeraphimon's Royal Guard Division for over twenty cycles." Dan did the math and figured out that Dukemon had worked with Sleipmon for the equivalent of forty years. "Why do you have such distrust in Mr. Connelly's word? I thought you trusted him."

"I did trust him; that is, until he lied to me on his report." Dukemon gave Dan a curious glance. "But how do you know he lied?" Dan was currently tapping a wall that had an unusual amount of bullet holes in it. The resounding noise alerted Dan to the fact that the space was hollow behind the wall. "Because, I checked the early security feed and saw how Sleipmon was doing against Shademon. The camera cut out after a few minutes, but I saw enough to realize that Sleipmon could not have dealt with Shademon alone, no less it and ShadowDevimon. The children had a much bigger role in this than Connelly is saying and I want to know what's making him so secretive."

Dan backed up from the wall and signaled towards it. "Would you do the honors?" Dukemon walked over to where Dan was standing and shot a blast of lightning through the wall. The hole that formed, leading to a hidden room, was just big enough for Dan to step through. He stepped through cautiously and observed the hidden office he was standing in, eventually gravitating towards the desk located in the room. Dan accessed the computer but found that it was completely wiped, even the Operating System. "What are you hiding Connelly…?"

* * *

><p>"What is your dad hiding?" Dylan asked Sarah and Rachel. The children were currently standing in a circle where Mr. Connelly had left them. Renamon had gone off to investigate and see what she could find among the police reports. Terriermon and BlackTerriermon were also off exploring, having snuck back into Connelly Industries through the air ducts.<p>

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked with a slight tone of hurt in her voice. "He didn't tell the police about our Digimon, or the fact that he was expecting the attack, or how about the part where he knew the guy's name! He's obviously hiding something from the police, something he doesn't want them to know. Why else would he obstruct a police investigation?"

"How dare you! Our dad just saved all of our asses with our program and you have the nerve to say he's hiding something!" Rachel obviously wasn't happy with Dylan's accusations. "I'm not denying the fact that he saved us! But you can't just ignore the facts. He's lying to the police. You hear that word? L-y-i-n-g!"

Rachel grabbed Dylan by the front of his shirt and pulled him threateningly close to her. "I swear to God if you say one more thing about my dad I'll make you wish Shademon killed you back at the school." Dylan glared back at Rachel, not losing his composure for a second. The two shared a fierce stare off that shut out the noisy surroundings around them. "Enough! You two need to knock it off." Sarah pushed herself in between the two, effectively ending the potential WWE match. "Now everybody chill out. Rachel, Dylan is right; dad's hiding something from the police. But Dylan, you don't have to be so hostile about it, alright?" Dylan and Rachel both nodded in defeat, still holding some slight anger towards each other.

Before anyone could say another word, Renamon appeared next to Joe, causing him to jump three feet in the air. "Seriously, you need to stop doing that!" Renamon gave him a quizzical look that begged the question "_doing what"_. "Renamon, what did you hear?" Dylan asked. "The police reports, the employees, everyone's saying the same thing: the attack was unexpected and was mainly deterred by Sleipmon. Although we are mentioned in the report, our role is kept minor at most. We are not important factors within the case." Dylan gave Rachel a look that said "I told you so" while starting to pace back and forth in thought.

"What are you thinking, Dylan?" Joe asked after seeing his friend in such deep thought. "I'm thinking we go with what Mr. Connelly said for now; we keep an eye on our Digimon and an eye out for Adrian. I'm going to do some major research and see what I can find about Adrian in the police records. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a few files on him from some past offences. When's the first chance we have to speak with your dad?"

"I'd guess about two weeks. It's going to be crazy around here for a while, but we can probably set something up within the next two weeks so we can all talk in private."

"Ok, let's do that then. In the meantime, I think we should all have our Digimon fight on the Network to see what they're capable of now. And yes, that includes Hagurumon, Joe." Joe looked down at his D-Pad where his Digimon was currently staying. Hagurumon was never much of a fighter and Joe didn't want to force him to do anything he didn't want to do, but he knew Dylan was right; they had to find out what effects the program had on their Digimon partners. "Well, I'm in; any reason to have BlackTerriermon kick some ass is a good enough reason for me."

"I'm in too; Terriermon and I could use some training, especially if we're going to run into Adrian again at some point."

"Hagurumon and I are in too…I guess." Dylan put a reassuring hand on Joe's shoulder, silently promising him everything would be okay. "Good, we'll meet up after school tomorrow on the Network and go from there. Now just one more thing to deal with; Joe, you still have Mr. Connelly's laptop right?" Through all the chaos of the night Joe had completely forgotten he was holding Mr. Connelly's laptop. He remembered seeing Mr. Connelly transfer all the data that was on his personal desktop onto the laptop; he could only imagine what data and information was currently stored on the device. He was surprised that the police hadn't asked more of it when they looked through his bag earlier and found it.

"Oh that's right, I almost forgot! My dad wants you to hold onto that for now, said you could search through it and do whatever you want. Apparently he thinks you may be able to upgrade the EVO program and make it better than he ever imagined or something like that." Joe was dumbfounded by this news but happily accepted it. He wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight, that's for sure.

* * *

><p><strong>[Human World, Dylan Kenney's House, 4:06 P.M.]<strong>

Dylan's day was less than memorable to say the least. After wrapping things up at Connelly Industries, Dylan was forced to spend a very awkward and silent car ride with his dad. On top of that, he had to go to school the next day and listen to Joe go on and on about all the amazing things he found in Mr. Connelly's laptop. If he had to hear one more time about the advanced data that could revolutionize Digimon as the world knows them, Dylan would break the laptop himself. Sarah and Rachel weren't much better; both were caught up on the previous day and what their father might be hiding from the police. Dylan's search through the police records didn't turn anything up either. He was up till three in the morning looking through file after file in Cyber City's criminal database and found absolutely no matches for Adrian or his strange Digimon.

The end of the school day couldn't have come any sooner for Dylan; boring classes plus no new info on the Connelly Industries incident meant a not-so-happy Dylan. He came home to find no one else was there. He assumed his mom was still at work, which meant Frigimon was either with her or out doing errands, while his dad was probably down at the station working on the Connelly case and doing research on ShadowDevimon. Dylan went up to his room to find Renamon waiting for him. "Find out anything interesting at the police station?"

"The police were attempting to interrogate ShadowDevimon but they didn't get anywhere. It's far too unstable; it seems its only capability is battling and nothing else. The corrupted data that Adrian used on it must have completely wiped out its other systems. By the way, your dad had some Dobermon set up around the Research Lab and the Interrogation Room. I think he was expecting me." Dylan just chuckled as he sat down on his bed and took off his shoes while powering up his laptop. "I'm not that surprised. I'm assuming you weren't caught?"

"No…it would seem that the EVO program not only boosts my overall strength, but my other skills as well. Sneaking around the police station seemed much easier than it used to be." Dylan made a mental note of that. He would have to remember to tell the others that later. "Alright, well, are you ready?" Renamon nodded and prepared herself. "Download, Renamon!" A blue data stream appeared around Renamon and an instant later, she was gone. Looking down at his D-Pad, Dylan saw Renamon resting inside of it.

Dylan sat down in the middle of his bed and put the laptop right in front of him, now loaded onto his desktop. He pushed a few buttons on his D-Pad and connected it to his laptop. "Upload, Renamon." Renamon disappeared from within his D-Pad and reappeared inside the laptop, standing on the task bar. "I'm opening up the Internet connection now. Get ready to Dive." Dylan punched the necessary commands into his computer and soon enough was connected to the official Online Battle website for Digimon.

"Initiate Dive." In an instant, Renamon felt herself being pulled into the Network, or the Internet as other people referred to it. When Digimon first came to the Real World, they weren't actually able to interact with humans in the Real World. They were only able to interact by entering the Internet and, through there, accessing personal devices such as D-Phones and computers. Two years later, construction of Cyber City was completed, which also meant the construction of the first public Digital Zone was complete. By being within a Digital Zone, humans are capable of bringing their Digimon into the Real World in physical form. However, the second a Digimon steps out of the Digital Zone, it'll be Downloaded back into its Tamer's D-Pad.

Renamon finished her Dive into the Network and looked around. She had entered straight onto the Digimon Battle website, which was as busy as usual. She looked up into the data covered "sky", with streams of blue and white code floating throughout and entering into other web servers and proxies. The ground looked like a digitized data chip with blue and black wires stringing across in seemingly random places. Bulletin boards, ads, video screens, and Digimon were spread all throughout the web domain, interacting with each other and requesting battles or reading through the many forum posts. Renamon always found the Network the most fascinating realm out of all the ones she's visited. The Real World and the Digital World were both very fascinating places, but the Network was definitely the most unique and interesting of all. Acting as a bridge between both worlds, the Network served as a major information depot and battle center for Digimon and humans alike, and it always found a way to amaze Renamon.

"I'll go put in a request for a battle. Why not contact the others and see if they're home yet," Renamon suggested as she walked towards the battle bulletin. "Okay, sounds good!" Dylan picked up his D-Pad and looked through his contacts, only to realize he never actually got Sarah or Rachel's phone numbers. "God damn it..." He scrolled down to Joe's number and shot him a text asking if he was home yet and, if he was, that he needed to get his ass on the Network with Hagurumon.

"Alright, I texted Joe and told him to have Hagurumon Dive. I may have forgotten to ask Sarah and Rachel for their numbers so hopefully we'll just run into them at some point." Renamon gave a small chuckle at her partner's mistake. He would forget to ask the girls for their numbers, but it wasn't that big of a deal. "That's alright, we'll find them later; our request has been accepted. Let's get going." Dylan nodded and pressed accept on his D-Pad, opening up a portal for Renamon to walk through. Although Dylan was using his laptop to watch Renamon on the Network, any interaction with her was done through his D-Pad, even simple things like speaking to her. Dylan was still fascinated with all the D-Pad was capable of.

"I'm sending you the specs on our opponents. Looks like a good start to our test runs." Dylan looked down at his D-Pad to check out the data. "Some guy named Carlos and his partner Tyrannomon. Man, we could have handled this even when you weren't all powered up. This won't be a fair fight."

"No it won't, but it will certainly allow us to see how much power I've gained."

Renamon emerged on the other end of the portal to find herself in a hallway leading into a baseball-field sized battle arena. Several Digimon were sitting in the stands, anticipating the battle that was about to begin. Renamon counted at least twenty. "It seems we have an audience."

"I'm not that surprised. Apparently this guy is better than we expected. His record says he's won over twenty consecutive matches. We may have to put some effort into this one."

_Now entering: Renamon_

"That's my cue." Renamon walked casually out into the battle arena, not even flinching when the crowd began to boo at her. "This guy has some intense fans."

_Now entering: Tyrannomon_

Just as the robotic voice announced this to the stadium, a giant red and white dinosaur walked out into the arena, flaring its nostrils and readying itself for a fight. The small audience responded with massive applause.

Renamon looked up and saw a floating triangular video screen listing the Digimon's stats above the stadium.

_Renamon_

_Level: Child_

_Type: Beast Man_

_Attribute: Data_

_Wins: 147_

_Losses: 23_

_Tyrannomon_

_Level: Adult_

_Type: Dinosaur_

_Attribute: Data_

_Wins: 123_

_Losses: 16_

Renamon readied herself, her new found power surging through her.

_Let the battle begin!_

Tyrannomon charged straight at Renamon, not wasting any time. "_Wild Buster_!" Tyrannomon's entire body became alit in flames as he charged towards Renamon.

"You can dodge that easily."

"I know, but we are supposed to be testing my new power. Let's see what I can do. _Touhakken_!" Renamon's body became covered in blue fire as she charged at her opponent, her fist ready to strike. Tyrannomon, as well as the audience, was stunned by her action to battle him head on instead of dodging but he kept charging forward. The two met in the middle of the arena, Renamon leaping up to Tyrannomon's head and punching him in the snout. The two stayed lock in a power struggle for a few seconds before Renamon's strike sent Tyrannomon flying backwards into the arena wall.

"Whoa…that was amazing!" Renamon didn't have time to respond to Dylan's compliment as Tyrannomon got back up and prepared another attack. "You little…_Fire Breath_!" Tyrannomon launched several fire ball attacks at Renamon. "Cute." Renamon swiftly dodged each fire ball, disappearing and reappearing in flashes. "Where did she go…?"

"That all you've got, big boy?" Tyrannomon looked down in shock as Renamon appeared right in front of him. "_Slash Nail_!" Tyrannomon sent his claw straight down towards Renamon but she quickly disappeared before he could strike. "_Kokaishū_!" Renamon knocked Tyrannomon aside with a roundhouse kick to his side, sending him into the ground groaning in pain. "Do you give up yet or do I have to start trying?"

"You little bitch! I'll teach you to mess with me! "_Wild Buster_!" Tyrannomon charged at Renamon with flames covering his entire body. "They never learn." Renamon jumped up into the air and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Dozens of tiny, shining leaves appeared in front of her as she spoke the word "_Kyousetsu_!" The leaves rained down on Tyrannomon, stopping him in his tracts and knocking him out.

_Winner: Renamon!_

"Now that's what I call a test run!" Renamon walked out of the arena, leaving her unconscious opponent behind. "Yes, that was a good start. Who's next?"

* * *

><p>Back in the arena, a silent observer looked down at the crumpled mess that was once Tyrannomon. <em>"Well, things certainly just became...interesting."<em>

_I do not own Digimon or anything associated with the franchise. I only own the human characters developed for the story and the story line itself. Reviews are welcomed and appreciated._


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